58•
MARTIN’S CORNER
Current economic slump has presented many challenges to industry and APS
(Continued from page 56.)
involved in? Could you take a mo- ment to describe the economic situa- tion in your area, and when or if you see it improving? Beall: I’ll tell you, John, as factual
as I can. The current economic slump has presented many challenges (i.e. valley experiences) to our industry and APS is certainly no exception. In 2009 we focused most of our efforts on matching our organizational struc- ture to the drastically changing mar- ket conditions. While we saw the revenue slide was adjusting with or without us in late 2008, we started fo- cusing on all our controllable costs and made the hard calls where needed. We renegotiated rents and other leases, freight, fuel contracts and healthcare and P&C insurance, but hardest of all was personnel cost. No stone was left unturned as we
realized the distributor model was changing and we had to adjust. We shared with our employees what we were seeing and asked for their feed- back in getting through this eco- nomic downturn. They made it happen. With their attitudes and de- termination we have been able to make the best of this very difficult environment. It has had a positive ef- fect on our company as it has caused us to evaluate all aspects of our op- erations and challenged us to refocus on our true core values. In 2010 we saw the market stabi-
lize (i.e. opportunities), so instead of being focused on survival mode, we were able to re-center our efforts on sales to key customers and projects in our market areas. This targeted ap- proach allowed us to pick up work with out-of-state contractors that had projects in our coverage area. It also
helped ensure we maintained our market share with existing customers. The outlook for 2011 in the South-
east is shaping up to be similar to 2010 with no real growth short term.
•THE WHOLESALER® — MARCH 2011
ter company today because of work- ing through this trying time in our in- dustry and country’s history. Together we will get from one mountain through the valley to the top of a higher mountain. It is hard sometimes to see the opportunities but I can say we have been truly blessed.. Martin: “Facing the forces of
Change!” What a novel idea. That was written several years ago — before we
We ask for and receive good feedback from our customers as they are trying to adjust to a new business model. In all cases, if we can justify changing our approach to help them with their model with out losing integrity in ours, we welcome being able to give that “value added” feature to them.
While we see other areas of the coun- try are showing signs of recovery, our market is still a year to 18 months from getting back on track. The chal- lenge is to keep a sharp focus on sales and trying to find opportunities to protect margins while continuing to evaluate cost. As I referred earlier, I call this time “valley experiences” as they challenge us and make us won- der why. But I dare say we are a bet-
all realized we’d have to buckle down and really do it. Seems you folks at APS got it right. Congrats. So, how have your customers’ ex-
pectations changed over the years, and how has your company adapted to those changing needs/wants? Kyle:Well, it should be of no sur-
prise to anyone that our customers are under intense pressure of their own to reduce cost and shorten schedules. This means they are shifting some of their tasks to us. We are being asked to “bag and tag” more orders so the contractor spends less time chasing down material. We are also making more shipments to the job trending towards a “just in time” inventory ap- proach. This costs us additional ship- ping cost as well as increased cost to carry additional inventory. We ask for and receive good feedback from our customers as they are trying to adjust to a new business model. In all cases, if we can justify changing our ap- proach to help them with their model with out losing integrity in ours, we welcome being able to give that “value added” feature to them. That makes the partnership stronger! Martin: You are right on there,
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Bob, about contractors/end users looking to cut cost and shorten their schedules. I see that all the time in meeting after meeting of the MCAA at their conventions and association meetings. All the things you talk about plus technology issues refer- ence quarterly and annually com- modity buying contracts awarded to distributors by some contractors so they do not have to make take offs or go out for bid on certain spends for commodity materials. Using manu- facturers and wholesalers alike that subscribe to EDI and even VMI at some of their store rooms and job sites for certain products. — along with being “green,” and working to be “BIM” certified. The latter is a modern up to date method of looking at a “Building Information Model- ing” process when it comes to the de- (Turn to cornerstones ... page 60.)
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